20 TV Storylines We Can't Believe Are Real

15. I Am Your Father - The X-Files

Though the Cigarette Smoking Man was originally intended to play a minor role in The X-Files, he was subtly and effectively elevated into the main villain. While Fox Mulder and Dana Scully try to expose the global alien conspiracy, the Smoking Man repeatedly undermines their efforts in order to secure control over the colonisation.

The Smoking Man is an amazing villain, embodying humanity's darkest impulses, including greed, control, and an insatiable hunger for power. William B. Davis portrays the character with chilling calmness, contrasting with the chaos unfolding around him. He also serves as a constant thorn in Mulder and Scully's side, poking his nose in nearly every conspiracy they uncover.

However, the mystique surrounding The Smoking Man is deflated when he's unveiled as Mulder's father. While the writers likely made this decision to deepen the emotional stakes, it reduced the enigmatic mastermind into a soap-opera villain. Also, the idea that the conspirator Mulder has been chasing for years happens to be his own dad is incredulous.

The Smoking Man felt like a perfect villain prior to this revelation, so there was no need to pull an Empire Strikes Back.